Hiemer moves ahead in S1 champs in incident filled GP of Alpi Del Mare
KTM rider Bernd Hiemer of Germany extended his S1 championship lead on Sunday in a day of racing on the Busca circuit in Italy that was not without its drama.
Hiemer got away quite well in the first of two races and had not really settled into his rhythm as he was hotly pursued by title contender Thierry van den Bosch. The French rider made an attack on Hiemer in the seventh lap which knocked Hiemer down to fourth but after multiple viewings of the video material the Race Direction disqualified van den Bosch for what they described as an "overly aggressive move". Official said the decision had been made in the interest of clean and fair racing. The incident vaulted Hiemer's lead in the championship to 37 points advantage going into the second race. Hiemer said after the races that neither he nor KTM had lodged any protect concerning the incident. "This was a decision from the FIM and the Race Direction," he said.
Second race red flagged
Drama continued in the second race, which was red flagged in the early stages after French rider Jerome Giraudo came off on the offroad section and had to be treated for injuries. In the restarted race, van den Bosch came out on top which left Hiemer in third place overall and still in possession of the red number plate.
"Because of the decision in the first race that left me with a good advantage in the points I decided to concentrate my efforts on trying to win the title and not take any particular risks in the second race," Bernd said. He finished in fourth place, adding another 18 points to his total for the day.
He now has 274 points ahead of van den Bosch's 245 going into the final GP in Greece in two week's time. Thomas Chareyre is in third place with 241 with Ivan Lazzarini on his heels with 238 in fourth. This all guarantees that the 50 points still up for grabs will be very hard fought in the final showdown
S1 Results Busca:
1. Thomas Chareyre, France, Husqvarna 25—20—45
2. Ivan Lazzarini, Italy, Aprilia, 18-22-40
3. Bernd Hiemer, Italy, KTM, 18-22-40
4. Eddy Seel, Belgium, Suzuki, 16-16—32
5. Fabio Balducci, Italy, 15-15--30
Standings after seven of eight rounds (only one race in Austrian GP):
1. Bernd Hiemer, Germany, KTM 274
2. Thierry van den Bosch, France, 245
3. Thomas Chareyre, France, 241
4. Ivan Lazzarini, Italy, 238
5. Thomas Winstanley, Britain, 175
Pignotti holds onto fourth in S2 championship in penultimate GP
KTM rider Attilio Pignotti finished a strong third in race one but a crash in race two left him with sixth overall at the S2 Grand Prix of Alpi del Mare in Busca, Italy on Sunday.
The Italian veteran had a superb start in race on the Busca circuit and engaged in a long attack on his old rival Belgian Gerald Delepine until a spill by Davide Gozzini disturbed his challenge and he had to settle for a strong third. Attilio was not so fortunate in race two. He did not get away as cleanly and then engaged in a long and tedious battle with fellow Italian riders Paolo Gaspardoni and Luca Minutilli, which was destined to finish in a crash and a subsequent tenth place. Despite the mixed day, Pignotti salvaged 31 points and sixth place, enough for him to hang onto fourth in the championship standings.
Although Chareyre and Gozzini are engaged in a two way battle for the title with only one race to go, Pignotti still is in with a chance to snatch the third podium place in the final reckoning if he can garner enough points to come out ahead of Delepine. The Belgian is in front by 24 points but there are still 50 points up for grabs in two weeks time in the final two races in Greece.
The kart Planet in Busca, Italy is one of the few permanent Supermoto facilities in the world. The challenging circuit includes a twisty slide section and a very selective slide section.
S2 Results:
1. Adrien Chareyre, France, Husqvarna 25-20-45
2. Davide Gozzini, Italy, TM, 15-25—40
3. Christian Iddon, Britain, Aprilia, 18-22—40
4. Gerald Delepine, Belgium, Husqvarna, 22-16—38
5. Paolo Gaspardone, Italy, Husaberg, 16-15—31
6. Attilio Pignotti, Italy, KTM, 20-11—31
Standings after seven of eight rounds:
1. Adrien Chareyre, France, Husqvarna 320 points
2. Davide Gozzini, Italy, TM, 309 point
3. Gerald Delepine, Belgium, Husqvarna, 249
4. Attilio Pignotti, Italy, KTM, 225
5. Luca Minutilli, Italy, Aprilia, 206
KTM Superstock riders gather more experience on Magny Cours circuit.
While results may have left a little to be desired, KTM's two dedicated riders in the FIM Superstock 1000 class battled with bad weather and on track problems on the French Formula One circuit of Magny Cours on Sunday.
It was a tricky weekend for Rene Maehr and Pauli Pekkanen of the KTM Maehr Superstock team who had to contend with a wet training day and in the case of Pekkanen, a brand new circuit with few opportunities to get to know it before the race. The team was confronted with pouring rain in the first practice session making it difficult to arrive at a good setup for the bikes. It was totally new territory for the Finn Pekkanen and the short training sessions left him little time to properly get to know the circuit. Maehr on the other hand took advantage of a dry course and good conditions on Saturday to qualify in fifteenth place for a fourth line grid position less than two seconds behind the leaders.
Optimistic but unlucky
Rene had a good start in the race and had moved up two places in the first lap. Then he slipped back to sixteenth place and in mid race, the rider behind him indicated that his bike was losing a little water. He returned to the pits and although it was found he could have finished the race, the decision was made for him to retire, for his own safety and that of others. Maehr was of course very disappointed. "It was realistic that I could have finished in the points," the Austrian rider said. "I was very optimistic, Saturday went well and the weather was better so I am unhappy not to have been able to finish."
Good showing on circuit new to Pekkanen
Pekkanen on the other hand had not had a happy qualifying practice on Saturday. With no experience at Magny Cours the 25 minute sessions left little time to test his skills against the circuit and to find the right set up for his KTM machine. Despite the problems he managed to qualify at thirty second and went on to finish at twenty second in the field of 37 finishers. "How I went in the race was not really reflected in the results," Pekkanen said "In fact the bike went well and there were no problems. I am confident that if I had managed a better start then things would have looked different on the results sheet. Now I am looking forward to the final race of the season in Portimao in Portugal. This is a new circuit where none of the riders have ridden it before."
Results:
1 - Matej Smrz - MS Racing - 24'07.794
2 - Freddy Foray - Coutelle Junior Team Suzuki - 24'08.257
3 - Claudio Corti - Yamaha Motor Italia J.T. - 24'08.337
4 - Alessandro Polita - Sterilgarda Go Eleven - 24'08.795
5 - Xavier Simeon - Team Alstare Suzuki - 24'09.586
Other KTM
22 (of 35 finishers) Pauli Pekkanen - KTM Maehr Superstock - 24'50.950
DNF René Maehr - KTM Maehr Superstock - 7'03.588
S1 & S2 Photographer: Batini P.
